Events

Join us for a night of film, food & discussion with guest speaker Nic Holas. Nic Holas is a writer who focuses on the contemporary gay experience, and being a person living with HIV. His writing has appeared in The Guardian, Archer Magazine, Hello Mr, Star Observer, and others. He is Contributing Editor of Check Up for the Gay News Network. You can find him on Twitter @nicheholas, or in his role as co-founder of HIV social umbrella The Institute of Many.

The documentary film CHEMSEX has been created by Picadillo Pictures for Vice.

A statement from the directors:

“Chemsex is a confessional show-­‐and-­‐tell about a community's search for intimacy and belonging, in what are all too often the wrong places. This search creates a parallel reality, a secret world where people hide their addiction in plain sight, living in a cycle of extreme pleasure and pain, validation and isolation.

What started as a look into a 'healthcare emergency', soon evolved into a complex revelation. It wasn't the sex or the drugs that shocked. Neither was it the danger or the consequences. It was the realisation that, for the majority of people, it was intimacy and not lust nor hedonism that was the driving force behind their behavior.

The decision to turn a camera on this subject came from seeing first-­‐hand how this community were starting to respond to this crisis. From anonymous voices on social networks to an NHS sexual health clinic creating the first ever position for a drugs worker on premises, it became clear to us that 'chemsex' was pushing people's physical and mental health to breaking point, not to mention the resources of those on the frontline trying to stem this epidemic.

The film, we hope, touches upon wholly universal notions of internalised shame, cycles of self-­‐destruction and eventual redemption through this very modern and little known health emergency.”

Prevent, Test & Treat to E.N.D. H.I.V.

HIV has been on the rise in Queensland for the past decade. But, if we work together we can end HIV by 2020. We have the power to prevent, test and treat HIV – and everyone has a part to play. Find out where to test